Victoria & Abdul
Subtitle: the true story of the queen's closest confidant
By: Shrabani Basu
Publisher: History Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Stroud
Language: eng
Number of pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9780752453644
Other titles: Victoria and Abdul
Description: "The tall, handsome Abdul Karim was just twenty-four years old when he arrived in England from Agra to wait at tables during Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. An assistant clerk at Agra Central Jail, he suddenly found himself a personal attendant to the Empress of India herself. Within a year, he was established as a powerful figure at court, becoming the queen's teacher, or Munshi, and instructing her in Urdu and Indian affairs. Devastated by the death of John Brown, her Scottish gillie, the queen had at last found his replacement. But her intense and controversial relationship with the Munshi led to a near-revolt in the royal household. 'Victoria & Abdul' examines how a young Indian Muslim came to play a central role at the heart of the Empire, and his influence over the queen at a time when independence movements in the sub-continent were growing in force. Yet, at its heart, it is a tender love story between an ordinary Indian and his elderly queen, a relationship that survived the best attempts to destroy it."--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references ( p. [217]-218) and index.
Table of contents: title: Agra; title: A Jubilee present; title: An Indian Durbar; title: Curries and highlanders; title: Becoming the Munshi; title: A grant of land; title: Indian affairs; title: The Viceroy receives a Christmas card; title: The household conspires; title: Rebellion in the ranks; title: 'Munshimania'; title: Redemption; title: Death of a queen; title: Last days in Agra; title: Endgame.